edHelper.com

Doris Buchanan Smith

---

Doris Buchanan Smith
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 5 to 8
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.76

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		uninterrupted, award-winning, finalist, portrayal, prank, frequently, tragedy, writing, successful, narrator, divorce, upbringing, cancer, insight, lengthy, author
	content words:		Doris Buchanan Smith, Buchanan Smith, Carroll Smith, Doris Smith, William Reiss, Best Book, Publishers Weekly, School Library Journal, American Library Association Notable, Newbery Medal

---

Print Doris Buchanan Smith

Print Doris Buchanan Smith  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Doris Buchanan Smith

Leave your feedback on Doris Buchanan Smith  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Doris Buchanan Smith By Jamie Kee

---

¹     Doris Buchanan Smith was an American author who wrote children's books. Many of these books were about the problems in children's lives like divorce, drugs, and death. Smith had excellent insight into the complexities of young people. She used her ability to see clearly into the youth and the problems they faced. Smith was one of the few authors at the time who was willing to write about these issues.
 
²     Doris Buchanan Smith was born June 1, 1934. She grew up in Washington, D.C, until she was nine. Then she and her family moved to Atlanta, Georgia. Since age eleven, Doris knew she wanted to be a writer, but her life kept her busy. Doris grew up and married Carroll Smith. She and her husband had four children together. They also cared for twenty-two foster children. They even became the legal guardians of one foster child. The Smiths raised this child all the way to adulthood. Doris Smith loved many things: animals, the environment, bird watching, Smith's many Shelties, and singing in the community choir. She wrote when she had the time. Smith even met with different writers' groups.
 
³     At first, Smith focused on raising her young children. When her youngest child started school, Smith began to seriously focus on a writing career. She wanted to write a novel. For two years, Smith asked her family for three uninterrupted hours a day for writing. If there was a phone call for her, the caller was to be told that she wasn't home. There were still lots of little interruptions by Smith's children. Sometimes she had to settle an argument between children. Other times, someone wanted a drink. One day, Smith's husband interrupted with a knock on her office door. Then he said, "Honey, it's not life and death but, trust me, you're home, you're home!" The phone call was from literary agent William Reiss. He was calling Smith to tell her that T.Y. Crowell & Co. agreed to publish her first book, A Taste of Blackberries (1973).

Paragraphs 4 to 9:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2011 edHelper